Unconstitutional Federal
Laws
Scary, huh? The presence of extra nodes in a flow-chart means that
there are more "loopholes" for unconstitutional legislation to slip
through. Perhaps that explains the next few pages, which consist of
laws passed by Congress that abridge freedom of speech or of the
press. They are, perhaps, the ultimate proof that the real
First Amendment isn't the one in the Constitution.
Incidentally, as you peruse these laws, you may find yourself in
agreement with some of them from a policy standpoint - I know I do.
But if the First Amendment is real, then these laws simply cannot
exist at the Federal level; if they are to exist at all, they
must be passed by State legislatures. Impractical? Yes. But
impracticality is a price the 1791 First Amendment commands we pay.
10 U.S.C. §772 When wearing . . .
authorized
(f) While portraying a member of the Army,
Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or
motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if
the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force.
17 U.S.C. §108 Limitations on exclusive
rights
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106,
it is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or
any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment, to
reproduce no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work . . .
17 U.S.C. §111 Limitations on exclusive rights
. . .
(e) Nonsimultaneous Secondary Transmissions by Cable
Systems. -
(1) Notwithstanding those provisions of the second paragraph of
subsection (f) relating to nonsimultaneous secondary transmissions by
a cable system, any such transmissions are actionable as an act of
infringement under section 501, and are fully subject to the remedies
provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, unless
-
(A) the program on the videotape is transmitted no more than one
time to the cable system's subscribers; and
(B) the copyrighted program, episode, or motion picture videotape,
including the commercials contained within such program, episode, or
picture, is transmitted without deletion or editing; and
(C) an owner or officer of the cable system (i) prevents the
duplication of the videotape while in the possession of the
system, (ii) prevents unauthorized duplication while in the
possession of the facility making the videotape for the system if the
system owns or controls the facility, or takes reasonable precautions
to prevent such duplication if it does not own or control the
facility, (iii) takes adequate precautions to prevent duplication
while the tape is being transported, and (iv) subject to clause
(2),erases or destroys, or causes the erasure or destruction of, the
videotape; and
(D) within forty-five days after the end of each calendar quarter, an
owner or officer of the cable system executes an affidavit attesting
(i) to the steps and precautions taken to prevent duplication of the
videotape, and (ii) subject to clause (2), to the erasure or
destruction of all videotapes made or used during such quarter . . .
17 U.S.C. §601 Manufacture . . . of certain
copies
Prior to July 1, 1982 . . . the importation into or
public distribution in the United States of copies of a work
consisting preponderantly of nondramatic literary material that is in
the English language and is protected under this title . . . is
prohibited unless the portions consisting of such material have been
manufactured in the United States or Canada. [exceptions and
clarifications follow]
17 U.S.C. §1002 Incorporation of copying
controls
(a) Prohibition on Importation, Manufacture,
and Distribution. - No person shall import, manufacture, or
distribute any digital audio recording device or digital audio
interface device that does not conform to -
(1) the Serial Copy Management System;
(2) a system that has the same functional characteristics as the
Serial Copy Management System and requires that copyright and
generation status information be accurately sent, received, and acted
upon between devices using the system's method of serial copying
regulation and devices using the Serial Copy Management System;
or
(3) any other system certified by the Secretary of Commerce as
prohibiting unauthorized serial copying . . .
18 U.S.C. §596 Polling armed
forces
Whoever, within or without the Armed Forces of the
United States, polls any member of such forces . . . either before or
after he executes any ballot under any Federal or State law, with
reference to his choice of or his vote for any candidate, or states,
publishes, or releases any result of any purported poll taken from or
among the members of the Armed Forces of the United States or
including within it the statement of choice for such candidate or of
such votes cast by any member of the Armed Forces of the United
States, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not
more than one year, or both.
18 U.S.C. §605 Disclosure of names of persons on
relief
Whoever, for political purposes, furnishes or
discloses any list or names of persons receiving compensation,
employment or benefits provided for or made possible by any Act of
Congress appropriating, or authorizing the appropriation of funds for
work relief or relief purposes, to a political candidate, committee,
campaign manager, or to any person for delivery to a political
candidate, committee, or campaign manager; and
Whoever receives any such list or names for political purposes
-
Shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one
year, or both.
18 U.S.C. §709 False advertising or misuse of
names
Whoever, except with the written permission of the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, knowingly uses the
words 'Federal Bureau of Investigation' or the initials 'F. B.I.', or
any colorable imitation of such words or initials, in connection with
any advertisement, circular, book, pamphlet or other publication,
play, motion picture, broadcast, telecast, or other production, in a
manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such
advertisement, circular, book, pamphlet or other publication, play,
motion picture, broadcast, telecast, or other production, is
approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation . . . [s]hall be punished as follows: a corporation,
partnership, business trust, association, or other business entity,
by a fine of not more than $1,000; an officer or member thereof
participating or knowingly acquiescing in such violation or any
individual violating this section, by a fine of not more than $1,000
or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
18 U.S.C. §793 Gathering, transmitting, or losing
defense information
Whoever, lawfully having possession
of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document,
writing . . . or information relating to the national defense which
information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the
injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign
nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be
communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate,
deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or
transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or
willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the
officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it . . .
[s]hall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than
ten years, or both.
18 U.S.C. §794 Gathering or delivering defense
information
Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it
is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the
advantage of a foreign nation, communicates . . . or attempts
to communicate, deliver, or transmit, to any foreign government, or
to any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign
country . . . any document, writing, . . . or information
relating to the national defense, shall be punished by
death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
18 U.S.C. §1302 Mailing lottery tickets or related
matter
Whoever knowingly . . . delivers by mail . . .
[a]ny circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar
scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or
chance . . . or [a]ny newspaper, circular, pamphlet, or publication
of any kind containing any advertisement of any lottery, gift
enterprise, or scheme of any kind offering prizes dependent in whole
or in part upon lot or chance, or containing any list of the prizes
drawn or awarded by means of any such lottery . . . [s]hall be fined
not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both;
and for any subsequent offense shall be imprisoned not more than five
years.
18 U.S.C. §1304 Broadcasting lottery
information
Whoever broadcasts by means of any radio
station for which a license is required . . . or . . . knowingly
permits the broadcasting of, any advertisement of or information
concerning any lottery . . . shall be fined not more than $1,000 or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
Each day's broadcasting shall constitute a separate offense.
18 U.S.C. §1381 Enticing desertion . .
.
Whoever . . . attempts . . . to entice . . . any person
in the Armed Forces of the United States, or who has been recruited
for service therein, to desert therefrom . . . [s]hall be fined not
more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
18 U.S.C. §1462. Importation or transportation of
obscene matters
Whoever brings into the United States, or any
place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or knowingly uses any
express company or other common carrier, for carriage in interstate
or foreign commerce -
(a) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy book, pamphlet, picture,
motion-picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter
of indecent character; or (b) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or
filthy phonograph recording, electrical transcription, or other
article or thing capable of producing sound; or (c) any drug,
medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for
producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use; or
any written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet,
advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or
indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any of such
mentioned articles, matters, or things may be obtained or made;
or whoever knowingly takes from such express company or other common
carrier any matter or thing the carriage of which is herein made
unlawful -
Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five
years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not
more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for
each such offense thereafter.
This was bad enough, but the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("the
Act") amended the preceding as follows:
SEC. 507. CLARIFICATION OF CURRENT LAWS REGARDING
COMMUNICATION OF OBSCENE MATERIALS THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTERS. (a)
IMPORTATION OR TRANSPORTATION- Section 1462 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended -- (1) in the first undesignated paragraph,
by inserting `or interactive computer service (as defined in section
230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)' after `carrier'; and
(2) in the second undesignated paragraph -- (A) by inserting `or
receives,' after `takes'; (B) by inserting `or interactive computer
service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of
1934)' after `common carrier'; and (C) by inserting `or importation'
after `carriage'.
Seems innocuous, until you put 2 and 2 together. As amended by
Section 507(a) of the Act, 18 U.S.C. §1462(c) now reads as
follows:
Whoever brings into the United States, or any
place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or knowingly uses any
express company or other common carrier or other
interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the
Communications Act of 1934), for carriage in interstate
or foreign commerce -
* * * (c) any drug, medicine, article, or thing designed,
adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or
immoral use; or any written or printed card, letter, circular, book,
pamphlet, advertisement, or a notice of any kind giving information,
directly or indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any
of such mentioned articles, matters, or things may be obtained or
made; or
whoever knowingly takes or receives
from such express company or other common carrier or
other interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2)
of the Communications Act of 1934), any matter or thing
the carriage or importation of which is
herein made unlawful -
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for
each such offense thereafter.
What's interesting is that under 18 U.S.C. §3559(a),
violation of 18 U.S.C. §1462 is a Class D felony. And under 18
U.S.C. §3571(b), the fines for individuals for violating 18
U.S.C. §1462 may be up to $250,000; under 18 U.S.C.
§3571(c), the fines for organizations for violating 18 U.S.C.
§1462 may be up to $500,000.
Section 507 (c) of the Act states:
The amendments made by this section are clarifying
and shall not be interpreted to limit or repeal any prohibition
contained in sections 1462 and 1465 of title 18, United States Code,
before such amendment, under the rule established in United States v.
Alpers, 338 U.S. 680 (1950).
Consequently, Congress explicitly indicated its intent to leave in
force all the pre-existing provisions of 18 U.S.C. §1462.
In other words, giving out abortion information over the Internet,
as of 1996, is illegal. Wow!
18 U.S.C. §1463 Mailing indecent matter . .
.
All matter otherwise mailable by law, upon the envelope or
outside cover or wrapper of which, and all postal cards upon which,
any delineations, epithets, terms, or language of an indecent, lewd,
lascivious, or obscene character are written or printed or otherwise
impressed or apparent, are nonmailable matter, and shall not be
conveyed in the mails nor delivered from any post office nor by any
letter carrier, and shall be withdrawn from the mails under such
regulations as the Postal Service shall prescribe.
Whoever knowingly deposits for mailing or delivery, anything declared
by this section to be nonmailable matter, or knowingly takes the same
from the mails for the purpose of circulating or disposing of or
aiding in the circulation or disposition of the same, shall be fined
not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
18 U.S.C. §1464 Broadcasting obscene
language
Whoever utters any obscene, indecent, or profane
language by means of radio communication shall be fined not more than
$10,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
18 U.S.C. §1696 Private express for letters and
packets
(a) Whoever establishes any private express for
the conveyance of letters or packets, or in any manner causes or
provides for the conveyance of the same by regular trips or at stated
periods over any post route which is or may be established by law, or
from any city, town, or place to any other city, town, or place,
between which the mail is regularly carried, shall be fined not more
than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
18 U.S.C. §2386 Registration of certain
organizations
The following organizations shall be
required to register with the Attorney General:
Every organization, the purpose or aim of which, or one of the
purposes or aims of which, is the establishment, control, conduct,
seizure, or overthrow of a government or subdivision thereof by the
use of force, violence, military measures, or threats of any one or
more of the foregoing.
Every registration statement required to be filed by any organization
shall contain the following information and documents . . . [a] copy
of each book, pamphlet, leaflet, or other publication or item of
written, printed, or graphic matter issued or distributed directly or
indirectly by the organization, or by any chapter, branch, or
affiliate of the organization, or by any of the members of the
organization under its authority or within its knowledge, together
with the name of its author or authors and the name and address of
the publisher . . .
Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section shall be fined
not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or
both.
18 U.S.C. §2702 Disclosure of
contents
(a) Prohibitions. - Except as provided in
subsection (b) -
(1) a person or entity providing an electronic communication service
to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity
the contents of a communication while in electronic storage by
that service; and
(2) a person or entity providing remote computing service to the
public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the
contents of any communication which is carried or maintained on that
service . . .
18 U.S.C. §2709 Counterintelligence access . .
.
(a) Duty to Provide. - A wire or electronic
communication service provider shall comply with a request for
subscriber information and toll billing records information, or
electronic communication transactional records in its custody or
possession made by the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation under subsection (b) of this section. . . .
(c) Prohibition of Certain Disclosure. -
22 U.S.C. §614 Filing and labeling of political
propaganda
It shall be unlawful for any person within the
United States who is an agent of a foreign principal and required to
register under the provisions of this subchapter to transmit or cause
to be transmitted in the United States mails or by any means or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce any political
propaganda for or in the interests of such foreign principal (i) in
the form of prints, or (ii) in any other form which is reasonably
adapted to being, or which he believes will be, or which he intends
to be, disseminated or circulated among two or more persons, unless
such political propaganda is conspicuously marked at its beginning
with, or prefaced or accompanied by, a true and accurate statement,
in the language or languages used in such political propaganda,
setting forth the relationship or connection between the person
transmitting the political propaganda or causing it to be transmitted
and such propaganda . . .
23 U.S.C. §131 Control of Outdoor
Advertising
(a) The Congress hereby finds and declares
that the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs,
displays, and devices in areas adjacent to the Interstate System and
the primary system should be controlled in order to protect the
public investment in such highways, to promote the safety and
recreational value of public travel, and to preserve natural beauty.
. . .
(c) Effective control means that such signs, displays . . . if
located within six hundred and sixty feet of the right-of-way . . .
located outside of urban areas, visible from the main traveled way of
the system, and erected with the purpose of their message being read
from such main traveled way, shall, pursuant to this section,
be limited to (1) directional and official signs and
notices, which signs and notices shall include, but not be
limited to, signs and notices pertaining to natural wonders, scenic
and historical attractions, which are required or authorized by law,
which shall conform to national standards hereby authorized to be
promulgated by the Secretary hereunder, which standards shall contain
provisions concerning lighting, size, number, and spacing of signs,
and such other requirements as may be appropriate to implement this
section, (2) signs, displays, and devices advertising the
sale or lease of property upon which they are located, (3) signs,
displays, and devices, including those which may be changed at
reasonable intervals by electronic process or by remote control,
advertising activities conducted on the property on which they
are located, (4) signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965,
determined by the State, subject to the approval of the Secretary, to
be landmark signs, including signs on farm structures or
natural surfaces, or historic or artistic significance the
preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of this
section, and (5) signs, displays, and devices advertising
the distribution by nonprofit organizations of free coffee
to individuals traveling on the Interstate System or the primary
system. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "free coffee"
shall include coffee for which a donation may be made, but is not
required.
Note: This law seemingly prohibits highway signs
pertaining to political speech!
36 U.S.C. §172 Pledge of allegiance to the flag;
manner of delivery
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag,
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and
to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.", should be rendered
by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the
heart. When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with
their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being
over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face
the flag, and render the military salute.
[Historical note: the war with Germany in 1942 (and the familiar
salute rendered by the Germans to "Der Fuhrer" during that war) led
to the following change from the original text of the statute: on
December 22, 1942, the following words were deleted from the
instructions about the way to show respect for the flag:
"extending the right hand, palm upward, toward the flag and
holding this position until the end, when the hand drops to the
side". See 36 U.S.C.S. §172, pp. 141-2 (1982).]
36 U.S.C. §176 Respect for flag
No
disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of
America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing . .
.
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it,
nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design,
picture, or drawing of any nature. . . .
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any
manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as
cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise
impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for
temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be
fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or
athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform
of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic
organizations. . . .
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a
fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way,
preferably by burning.
Contrast this with the following statute:
18 U.S.C. §700 Desecration of the flag of the
United States; penalties
(a) (1) Whoever knowingly
mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on
the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one
year, or both.
(2) This subsection does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the
disposal of a flag when it has become worn or soiled. . . .
(d) (1) An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the
United States from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or
order issued by a United States district court ruling upon the
constitutionality of subsection (a).
(2) The Supreme Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the
question, accept jurisdiction over the appeal and advance on the
docket and expedite to the greatest extent possible.
36 U.S.C. §410 Propaganda activities
prohibited
No part of the activities of the corporation
shall consist of carrying on propaganda.
40 U.S.C. §13k Parades or assemblages. .
.
It shall be unlawful to parade, stand, or move in
processions or assemblages in the Supreme Court Building or grounds,
or to display therein any flag, banner, or device designed or adapted
to bring into public notice any party, organization, or movement.
47 U.S.C. §227 Fax equipment
(a) (2) The
term "telephone facsimile machine" means equipment which has the
capacity (A) to transcribe text or images; or both, from paper into
an electronic signal and to transmit that signal over a regular
telephone line, or (B) to transcribe text or images (or both) from
electronic signal received over a regular telephone line onto
paper.
(d) (1) Prohibition. It shall be unlawful for any person
within the United States -
(A) to initiate any communication using a telephone facsimile
machine, or to make any telephone call using any automatic
telephone dialing system, that does not comply with the technical
and procedural standards prescribed under this subsection, or to
use any telephone facsimile machine or automatic telephone dialing
system in a manner that does not comply with such standards; or
(B) to use a computer or other electronic device to send any
message via a telephone facsimile machine unless such person clearly
marks, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page of
the message or on the first page of the transmission, the date and
time it is sent and an identification of the business, other entity,
or individual sending the message and the telephone number of the
sending machine or of such business, other entity, or
individual.
(2) Telephone facsimile machines. The Commission shall revise
the regulations setting technical and procedural standards for
telephone facsimile machines to require that any such machine
which is manufactured after one year after the date of enactment of
this section clearly marks, in a margin at the top or bottom of each
transmitted page or on the first page of each transmission, the date
and time sent, an identification of the business, other entity, or
individual sending the message, and the telephone number of the
sending machine or of such business, other entity, or individual.
[This law prohibits anonymous transmission by fax. Supposely, laws
preventing anonymity are unconstitutional. At least, that's what the
Court said in Talley v. State of California, 362 U.S. 60
(1960). In that incorporated Fourteenth Amendment case, Judge Black
stated that:
The question presented here is whether the
provisions of a Los Angeles City ordinance restricting the
distribution of handbills 'abridge the freedom of speech and of the
press secured against state invasion by the Fourteenth Amendment of
the Constitution.' The ordinance, §28.06 of the Municipal Code
of the City of Los Angeles, provides:
No person shall distribute any
hand-bill in any place under any circumstances,
which does not have printed on the cover, or the face
thereof, the name and address of the following:
(a) The person who printed, wrote, compiled or
manufactured the same.
(b) The person who caused the same to be distributed;
provided, however, that in the case of a fictitious person or club,
in addition to such fictitious name, the true names and addresses of
the owners, managers or agents of the person sponsoring said
hand-bill shall also appear thereon.
[1]
As Black noted,
There can be no doubt that such an
identification requirement would tend to restrict freedom to
distribute information and thereby freedom of
expression. 'Liberty of circulating is as essential to
that freedom as liberty of publishing; indeed, without the
circulation, the publication would be of little value'.
Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U.S. at page
452 . . .
Anonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have
played an important role in the progress of mankind. Persecuted
groups and sects from time to time throughout history have been able
to criticize oppressive practices and laws either anonymously or not
at all. The obnoxious press licensing law of England, which was also
enforced on the Colonies was due in part to the knowledge that
exposure of the names of printers, writers and distributors would
lessen the circulation of literature critical of the government. The
old seditious libel cases in England show the lengths to which
government had to go to find out who was responsible for books that
were obnoxious to the rulers. John Lilburne was whipped, pilloried
and fined for refusing to answer questions designed to get evidence
to convict him or someone else for the secret distribution of books
in England. Two Puritan Ministers, John Penry and John Udal, were
sentenced to death on charges that they were responsible for writing,
printing or publishing books. Before the Revolutionary War colonial
patriots frequently had to conceal their authorship or distribution
of literature that easily could have brought down on them
prosecutions by English-controlled courts. Along about that time the
Letters of Junius were written and the identity of their author is
unknown to this day. Even the Federalist Papers, written in favor of
the adoption of our Constitution, were published under fictitious
names. It is plain that anonymity has sometimes been assumed for the
most constructive
purposes.[2]
It is ironic that a municipality is prohibited from
abridging speech in this manner, in the absence of an express
Constitutional prohibition, while Congress is not prohibited,
in the presence of an express Constitutional prohibition.]
47 U.S.C. §228 Regulation of carrier offering of
pay-per-call services
(a) Purpose. It is the
purpose of this section-
(l) to put into effect a system of national regulation and review
that will oversee interstate pay-per-call services; and
(2) to recognize the Commission's authority to prescribe regulations
and enforcement procedures and conduct oversight to afford reasonable
protection to consumers of pay-per-call services and to assure that
violations of Federal law do not occur. . . .
47 U.S.C. §303a Standards for children's television
programming
(b) Advertising duration
limitations
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the standards
prescribed under subsection (a) of this section shall include the
requirement that each commercial television broadcast licensee shall
limit the duration of advertising in children's television
programming to not more than 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and
not more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays.
47 U.S.C. §317 Announcement of payment for
broadcast
(1) All matter broadcast by any radio station
for which any money, service or other valuable consideration is
directly or indirectly paid, or promised to or charged or accepted
by, the station so broadcasting, from any person, shall, at
the time the same is so broadcast, be announced as paid for or
furnished, as the case may be, by such person . . .
(2) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Commission from
requiring that an appropriate announcement shall be made at the time
of the broadcast in the case of any political program or any program
involving the discussion of any controversial issue for which any
films, records, transcriptions, talent, scripts, or other material or
service of any kind have been furnished, without charge or at a
nominal charge, directly or indirectly, as an inducement to the
broadcast of such program.
47 U.S.C. §335 Direct Broadcast Satellite Service
Obligations
(b) (1) Channel capacity required.
The Commission shall require, as a condition of any provision,
initial authorization, or authorization renewal for a provider of
direct broadcast satelhte service providing video programming,
that the provider of such service reserve a portion of its channel
capacity, equal to not less than 4 percent nor more than 7 percent,
exclusively for noncommercial programming of an educational or
informational nature. . . .
47 U.S.C. §399 Editorializing . . .
prohibited
(a) No noncommercial educational
broadcasting station may engage in editorializing or may support
or oppose any candidate for political office. . . .
[This law was declared unconstitutional in F.C.C. v. League of
Women Voters, 468 U.S. 364 (1984). According to the Court,
"§399's broad ban on all editorializing by every station that
receives CPB funds far exceeds what is necessary to protect
against the risk of governmental interference or to prevent the
public from assuming that editorials by public broadcasting stations
represent the official view of government. The regulation
impermissibly sweeps within its prohibition a wide range of speech by
wholly private stations on topics that do not take a directly
partisan stand or that have nothing whatever to do with federal,
state, or local
government."[3]
In that supposedly pro-First Amendment decision, the Court
rejected the First Amendment's clear directives, and substituted a
fake First Amendment exclusion of speech which "take[s] a directly
partisan stand".
In any event, Congress took the Court's advice, and four years
later replaced the statute with the following:
No noncommercial educational broadcasting station
may support or oppose any candidate for political office.
(As amended Nov. 7, 1988, P.L. 100-626, §10, 102 Stat. 3211)
Progress? Perhaps from a policy standpoint, but the new version
still unconstitutionally abridges the freedom of speech. When
it rains, it pours.
Even worse, the F.C.C. regulation reflecting this law was
not changed. What does this mean? Apparently, it means that
there are two sets of laws of the books. Instead of one law
regulating speech, now we have two. Not only is "editorializing"
still prohibited, but so is support or opposition of political
candidates.
47 U.S.C. §605 Unauthorized publication . . .
Except as authorized by chapter 119, title 18, United
States Code [18 U.S.C. §§2510 et seq.] . . . No
person having received any intercepted radio communication or having
become acquainted with the contents, substance, purport, effect, or
meaning of such communication (or any part thereof) knowing that such
communication was intercepted, shall divulge or publish the
existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of such
communication (or any part thereof) or use such communication (or any
information therein contained) for his own benefit or for the benefit
of another not entitled thereto. This section shall not apply to the
receiving, divulging, publishing, or utilizing the contents of any
radio communication which is broadcast or transmitted by amateurs or
others for the use of the general public . . .
47 U.S.C. §606 War powers of President
(c)
Suspension or amendment of rules and regulations applicable
to certain emission stations or devices. Upon proclamation
by the President that there exists . . . a state of public peril
[note: no war required, contrary to the title of this statute --
BK] or disaster or other national emergency, or in order to
preserve the neutrality of the United States , or defense, may suspend or amend, for such time
as he may see fit, the rules and regulations applicable to any or all
stations or devices capable of emitting electromagnetic radiations
within the jurisdiction of the United States as prescribed by the
Commission, and , which is suitable for use as a navigational
aid beyond five miles, and the removal therefrom of its apparatus and
equipment, . . .
1 Talley, pp. 60-1.
2 Talley, pp. 64-5 (footnote omitted).
3 FCC, p. 395.